Run code without managing servers or infrastructure

AWS Lambda, Azure Functions, Google Cloud Functions

Pay per invocation and execution time

Automatic, based on incoming requests

Initial latency when a function is invoked after idle time

Functions are stateless; use external storage for state

APIs, scheduled tasks, event processing

Execution time and memory limits vary by provider

Typically zip or container image uploaded to the provider

Tools like AWS SAM or Serverless Framework help manage functions